Paintings

The beauty and variety of Balinese paintings have gained the admiration of the tourists. The island boasts major centers of dramatic art such as Batuan, Ubud and Pengosekan. Kamasan, near Klungkung is also the place identical with the traditional form of Balinese paintings.

Previously, the portraits of classic Hindu epics dominated the form of Balinese paintings. During that period, the painting was made on langse or ider-ider. Langse is a wide rectangular cloth, which is used to paint while ider-ider is much narrower. Langse and ider-ider were used to decorate the temples. Wooden boards were also material used to paint in the past.

In the early of 20th Century, western artists contributed tremendous support for the fresh approach in painting. With Ubud as the headquarter, Walter Spies and Rudolph Bonnet promoted painting as an art appearance and donated materials to the local Balinese, who began to paint naturalistic sights reflecting Balinese daily activities and traditions.

Anticipating tourism's negative impact on the quality of art, Ubud artists established the Pita Maha association in 1930s. The association tried to make all artists aware of the need to maintain artistic excellence and to exhibit work outside of Bali.

There are some characteristics of Balinese paintings. Kamasan, as one of the prime center of art, has its own style. East Javanese wayang (puppet) art is reflected on most of the paintings. Now, as the wayang tradition is kept alive, tourists can still discover people who are dedicated to painting in the customary wayang style. One of the pioneer in wayang tradition preservation is I Nyoman Mandra, famous Kamasan artist. Other prime center of art, Batuan, the artists, such as I Wayan Bendi, Ni Wayan Warti and I Made Budi often describes a statement about life in Bali, from traditional village activities to foreigners in Bali. Prior to this generation, Batuan artist such as Ida Bagus Made Togog and Ida Bagus Made Wija express their sense of art through the portrayal of supernatural side of Bali.

Another style, Keliki, has a different type in size. Keliki paintings are only 20 cm by 15 cm in size. Mythical and characters from Ramayana epics dominate the scene of the style.

In the direction of Pengosekan, the paintings are more realistic with natural creatures such as birds, insects and plants featured. The Ubud style is even more expressive but of course, the artists still retain traditional characters. Some of famous Ubud artists are Anak Agung Gede Sobrat, Gusti Ketut Kobot, Made Sukada, Ida Bagus Made and Dewa Putu Bedil.

In these villages, highly praised local artists live and burgeon. One of the most famous Balinese artists is I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (1862-1978), had an extensive range of talents in many media, including painting, sculpture and architecture. With his extraordinary talent, Lempad created masterpieces that gained international recognition.

Even some well-established foreign artists have chosen to make these centers their home. They include Antonio Blanco, Arie Smit, Hans Snel, Le Mayeur and Walter Spice. The existence of them influenced local artists in that area. The use of flamboyant colors gave a more expressive nuance in the paintings created by the next generation Balinese painters such as I Wayan Pugur, I Ketut Tagen, I Nyoman Londo and Ketut Soki.